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India’s new mega-dam will roil lives downstream with wild swings in water flow every day
(theconversation.com)
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Climate
Hard to evaluate the construction of these mega-projects without exploring the counterfactuals. Where should Indians get their electricity from if not hydro power?
Well, in most countries wind and solar are rapidly growing compared to hydro. A more critical question for India is what else could replace the melting Himalayan glaciers and reducing snow cover, as a storage of water for the dry season?
That's more a consequence of hydro sites having been built out already. If you've got a prime candidate for development, you'll find it difficult to get a better yield on the dollar over a smaller geographic footprint.
Water conservation also a very big deal in India right now. Although the downstream impact of damming also tends to be droughts.